the white house defends its use of deadly air strikes against suspected terrorists even if they're american citizens. postal problems. after running up billions of dollars in debt the post office is set to announce major changes today that could impact when you get your mail. and it's decision day for the boycouts of america. the historic organization could end its ban on gay scouts and leaders. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, february 6th, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. we begin overseas. a powerful earthquake in the

south pacific triggered a tsunami in the solomon islands overnight. the magnitude 8.0 quake struck off the easternmost islands. the prime minister's office says a 5-foot wave of water damaged up to 80 homes and several people are believed to have died. and we're learning more now about the dramatic rescue of that young alabama boy held hostage for a week. the boy identified only by his firth name ethan celebrated his sixth birthday today when the fbi stormed the bunker where he was held captive, the suspect opened fire. jimmy lee dykes was killed. it appears he was prepared for a raid. investigators found a bomb in the bunker and one in the pipe dykes used to communicate with the authorities. marlie hall reports. >> reporter: investigators are still gathering and processing everyday from the underground bunker where suspect jimmy dykes

held ethan captive. the fbi's hostage rescue team stormed into the bunker monday, set off hand grenades and then shot and killed dykes. they moved in after watching dykes through a camera that was inserted into the bunker during the standoff. cbs correspondent john miller has more. >> they could be drilled into a pinhole in the wall. >> reporter: miller says the fbi will not reveal their spy tactics because they want to keep them secret for the next hostage situation. students returned to midland elementary. a sign outside the school honors charles poland who tried to stop the kidnapper. the other sign has a happy birthday message for ethan who turns 6 years old on wednesday. they're planning a big party for ethan when his mom says he's ready. ethan's old bus was retired and

replaced with brand-new one. >> we didn't feel that the healing process would go on with that bus still here. >> reporter: marlie hall, cbs news, midland city, alabama. it will be mr. obama's first visit to israel as president. many israelis believe mr. obama has been less than supportive. he'll also visit the west bank and jordan. now to the budget. the president is proposing another stop gap measure due to kick in next month. it will temporarily deal with the so-called sequester, include a revenue increase. it's been getting a frosty welcome from republicans though. danielle nottingham has that story. >> reporter: president obama is calling for automatic stop to across the board spending. >> our economy is headed in the right direction and it will stay

that way as long as there aren't any more self-inflicted wounds coming out of washington. >> reporter: last year they signed off on automatic cuts to force themselves to deal with the skyrocketing national debt. when they couldn't reach a larger budget then, they postponed it to march 1st. the white house wants another short term fix to head off the fragile economy and give lawmakers more time to work out a ten-year plan. >> we should give them a chance to come up with a budget instead of making indiscriminate cuts now that will cost us jobs and significantly slow down our recovery r the president continues to push the approach that includes more house and spending cuts. but john boehner says tax hikes are out of the question. >> every month with president obama kind of feels the same. high unemployment, rising prices, and more debt for our kids and our grandkids. >> reporter: speaker boehner says he does not want another

temporary fix. some other republicans indicated they will let the automatic cuts take effect if there's no long-term agreement to reduce the deficit. both cuts would take a bite out of military and domestic spending programs including a 2% hit to medicare. danielle nottingham, cbs news, the white house. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, overseas markets got a boost and postal problems. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> and good morning do you, anne-marie. well top official's resignation from the bank of japan spurred the market this morning. tokyo's nikkei jumped 3% to close out a four-year high while hong kong's hang sang sank half a percent. the dow shot up 99 points to close at 13,979 while the nasdaq gained 40 points. the end of an era at the post office may be near. after losing $16 billion last

year, the post master general is expected to announce today plans to cut costs. one plan mentioned in the past includes saturday mail. it's trimmed its work force by 35%. rumors about dell giving up on wall street and going private are true. the struggling computer company announced an almost $25 billion buyout on tuesday led by founder michael dell. it would be the largest deal of its kind since the great recession. dell hopes to complete the transaction by the end of july. the justice department says they've broken up one of the biggest credit it card fraud rings of all time. 18 people were arrested tuesday accused of creating fake i.d.s to steal over $200 million. the ring operated in 28 states and several countries where the money was used to fund lashish

lifestyles. >> a man who found a rare baseball card at a yard sale in maine is about to become very rich. there are only two cards like it in the world. the card is hitting the auction block today and is expected to reach at least $100,000. and mvp joe flacco got the keys to a corvette with a huge tax bill. the car is worth about $60,000. if he decides to keep it he'll have to pay about $25,000 in taxes. don't worry. he can certainly afford it. he's a free agent and can expect to make about $20 million. what a problem to have. anne-marie? >> thank you, ashley. there's a growing debate in washington over the controversial issue of drone aircraft, specifically deadly attacks against americans. tomorrow it will likely be an

issue with john brennan. a new memo gives the president wide latitude in ordering the strikes. and overnight "the new york times" reported that some of the lethal strikes originated from base in saudi arabia. susan mcginnis is in washington. susan, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. yeah, this is coming from a newly declassified document that seems to provide legal rationale for the government to target u.s. abroad suspected of being terrorists without due process. this is an out growth of legislation from 9/11 and now there's an outcry from capitol hill and elsewhere that it goes too far. the white house is vigorously defending a justice department memo which says the administration can use drones to attack and kill american citizens working with terrorists. >> these strikes are legal. they're ethical. and they are wise. >> reporter: the memo originally obtained by nbc news says

killing a u.s. citizen who's a senior in al qaeda is lawful under three conditions. the suspect is to kill americans. it's not possible to capture him before the attack and it follows law and war principles but some on chile will concerned that it violates the constitutional right of american suspects to a trial by jury and on tuesday the white house press corps pushed obama on the issue. >> this is giving legal justification for killing american citizens without any trial. >> i would point you to the ample judicial precedent for the idea that someone who takes up arms against the united states in a war against the united states is an enemy and therefore could be targeted accordingly. >> so far there is one known case of an american being targeted with a drone strike.

>> america cannot and will not win. >> anwar al awlaki was killed at an air base in 2011. anne-marie, there's apparently a growing number of these bases operated by the cia and the military. >> susan mcginnis in washington, thank you. well, coming up on the morning news, division in the ranks as the boy scouts consider lifting a ban on gays. some members struggle over the change in policy. this is the "cbs morning news." >> announcer: "moneywatch" sponsored by vagisil. count on it. [ male announcer ] here's a fun fact:

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now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. i work for 47 different companies. well, technically i work for one. that company, the united states postal service®, works for thousands of home businesses. because at usps.com®, you can pay, print and have your packages picked up for free. i can even drop off free boxes. i wear a lot of hats. well, technically i wear one. the u.s. postal service®, no business too small. . a victory for same-sex marriage in england british lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to legalize gay marriage on tuesday. if it becomes law it will allow gay couples to be married in

religious and civil ceremonies as long as the religious institution agrees. it still has to be approved by the house of lords. and today is the day for boy scouts. they'll vote on the ban on gay members. it will allow each individual troop to adopt its own policy on the issue. >> reporter: boy scout steve tenet and his 16-year-old son christopher have been involved in the last five years. they're straight but don't like the policy excluding gays. >> i have a huge problem with that. >> what did you learn when you found that a local troop threw out a kid because he was gay? >> i was shocked. shocked and amazed. appalled. i couldn't believe it. >> the teen thrown out last october was 18-year-old ryan andresne who was about to become an eagle scout. >> it's totally devastating.

>> i can't imagine ever doing that to a boy, but that's what this policy would have me do. >> but others in scouting about washing about the quick change. >> we were caught completely off guard with it. we've had a policy that's been in place for over a hundred years that seems to have functioned for the most part soundly. >> reporter: in a letter to the boy scout board of directors, godfrey's council urged that voting on the change be delayed. the tenents hour say they're ready to accept gays. >> there's a 16-year-old going on a camping trip, does gay scouts going along bother you? >> it doesn't bother me at all. >> reporter: proponents of it say it could lead to problems at large events like jamborees and

could open scout groups to continue to exclude gays to lawsuits charging discrimination. john blackstone, cbs news, san francisco. straight ahead, your weather, and in sports a race against time for lindsey vonn. the skier suffers a devastating injury with just over a year before the winter olympics begin. can't always move the way she wants. now you can. with stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body while thermocontrol wicks moisture away. keep moving. stayfree. for hollywood's biggest stars. who is it for? it's for becky. now, he designs for the star in your life. neil lane bridal. hand-crafted rings. at kay -- the number one jewelry store in america. ♪ every kiss begins with kay at kay -- the number one jewelry store in america. it'and start talking aboutt whawhat you really wanthroom. from your toilet paper. it's time to talk about clean. feeling clean is so important. i use quilted northern. quilted northern soft and strong

is stronger than the leading value brand, for a confident clean. [ sad music playing ] [ knock on door ] your bags, sir. both: finally! one taste, and you'll understand. enjoy dunkin' donuts coffee anytime. pick some up where you buy groceries. here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

new york, snow showers a high of 40. miami, a high of 80. chicago sun and clouds a chilly 34. dallas, showers, high of 70 and los angeles, 63. and time now for a check of the national forecast. another round of snow for parts of the midwest. expect a wintry mix of ice and rain from minnesota through ohio through thursday night. thunderstorms with high winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes are all possible across texas and louisiana. look for light snow in the northeast and another storm arrives in the northwest. in sports, charmed city celebrated its champions on tuesday. thousands of baltimore raven fans packed the town square. the ravens paraded through downtown baltimore in military vehicles and were met by more than 70,000 supporters at m&t stadium. retired linebacker ray lewis came out of the tunnel one last

time holding the trowtry. about 100,000 fans took part in the celebration. in baseball, allegations of poerms-enhancing drug use are swirling around former mvp ryan braun once again. yahoo! sports report braun's name appears from a clinic that allegedly supplied rodriguez with p.e.d.s. the brewers' star maintained his innocence in that case and had the suspension overturned. well, the 2014 winter olympics begin in a year and a day and american skier lindsey vonn is going to need just about all that time to rehab from a horrific leg injury. she suffered two torn ligaments when she crashed yesterday in australia. the 28-year-old had to be airlifted off the slope. the u.s. air team says she should be ready for the 2014 games. in the nba the lakers making

their first trip to brooklyn. the game tied at 28 in the fourth when kobe bryant gets his hand on the ball. >> bryant goes to work. surprise. kobe bryant with an attack. >> that was two of kobe's 21 points and the lake e nets neve recovered. when we return, swift justice. an inmate behaving badly in court finds out the hard why why he should treat the judge with respect. [ bleep ]. ct. i can't get enough. the only thing stopping me? fear of clumps. [ gasps ] until now. meet new covergirl clump crusher. big volume mascara with a brush designed to crush. now, i can load up my lashes to the extreme. 200% more volume. zero clumps. this is a lash addict's dream. new clump crusher from easy, breezy, beautiful, covergirl.

here's look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., sunny, 45. atlanta, sunny, 65. st. louis, sunny, 48. denver, 56, seattle, showers, high of 48. north korea released a

disturbing new propaganda video. it shows a man dreaming about new york city being engulfed in flames with "you are the world" playing in the background. a miami woman learned the hard way not to make a judge angry. after the judge set bail at $5,000, the woman seemed to thing it was a joke and said adios. so he called her back and set bail at $10,000. then she made an obscene gesture, so he called her back again. >> did you say that? >> yes, sir, i did. >> you say that? i find you in krimm contempt. 30 days in the county jail. >> the woman had been arrested for drugs. >> the galaxy far, far away is getting bigger. the director of walt disney says it's working on standalone films. disney which purchased the rights to "star wars" last year

is already workinging on a new trilogy which will be separate from the spin-off. this is your "morning news." on trilogy which will be separate from the spin-off. this is your "morning news." [ lane ] are you growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®.

. good morning. welcome to wusa9. today is wednesday. we're midway there.

february 6. i'm andrea roane. wednesday sounds good. good morning. i'm mike hydeck. in other words, hump day. >> exactly. good morning. that's a small cup for you. >> it's overflowing. >> one of many. >> one of many. keep them coming. weather wise, we'll see sunshine today which after yesterday's cloudiness, it kept us in the low 40s for highs. today we'll get back to the mid- 40s with the sunshine. here's a look at your day planner. we've got pretty good sky conditions right thousand. partly cloud -- right now. partly cloudy. we'll go mostly sunny with the high in mid-40s. closer to 50 in fredricksburg. closer to 40 in hagerstown. winds brink. may be -- winds brisk, may be gusting 15 or 20 at times. a disturbance came through last night. there were a few sprinkles and snow showers with it but didn't amount to much of the a quiet morning now with a temperature

of 32 in fred rigsburg and -- fredricksburg and frederick. winchester is 34. cumberland you're mild at 36. easton we've got 29 going into the mid-40s here in d.c. good wednesday, monika samtani. tell me things are going fine on the roads. they are for the most part right now but not overnight. had a very serious accident on the southbound side of i-95 here in dumfries at route 234. it was a tractor-trailer and an suv. believe it or not, two medevac helicopters were sent to the scene of the accident. it happened at about 1:30 this morning. let's take a live look right now at our traffic camera. looks like everything has been cleared up. just a few moments ago there were still some flares set up on the southbound side. everything is getting by at route in. all lanes were blocked for some time at 1:30 till about 3:00 southbound 95. so good news now. further north in:springfield on the northbound -- in

springfield on the northbound side of 95, it's light. no problems to report. this time over to 270, southbound at democracy boulevard looking good to germantown. the rules on when the government can use drone attacks to kill american citizens isn't as strict as previously believed. >> cbs news has confirmed the authenticity of a justice department memo laying out when the president can indeed authorize these kinds of attacks. susan mcginnis has more. >> reporter: the white house is vigorously defending a justice department memo which says the administration can use drones to protect and kill american dozens working with terrorists. >> these strikes are legal. they are ethical and wise. >> reporter: the memo originally obtained by nbc news says killing a u.s. citizen who is a senior operation leader in al qaeda or an associated force is lawful under three conditions: the suspect is engaged in planning operations to kill americans even if no

specific attack is imminent, it's not possible to capture the suspect before the attack, and the operation follows applicable laws and war principles. but some on capitol hill are concerned the policy violates the constitutional right of american suspects to a trial by jury. on tuesdayed white house press corps pushed obama officials on the issue. >> this is giving legal justification for killing american citizens without any trial, without any evidence. >> i would point you to the ample judicial process for the idea someone who takes up arms against the united states in a war against the united states is an enemy and therefore could be targeted accordingly. >> reporter: so far there is one known case of an american being targeted with a drone strike. anwar was killed in 2011. coss